of Highways, in order to fully carry into effect the provisions of this Act.

Repealing Section.

Section 13. Section 1, of the House Joint Resolution No. 16, Session Laws of 1917, is hereby repealed.

State Commissioner-Supervision and Control.

Section 14. The construction and maintenance of the State Highway System and all work incident thereto shall be under the general supervision and control of the State Commissioner of Highways, who is hereby authorized, empowered and directed to take whatever steps may be necessary to cause said State Highway System to be constructed at the earliest possible time, consistent with the good business management and funds available, after this Act takes effect, and also to provide for the proper maintenance of said State Highway System. The State Commissioner of Highways shall have power to make all final decisions affecting the work provided for herein, and all rules and regulations he may deem necessary not inconsistent with this Act, for the proper management and conduct of said work and for carrying out all of the provisions of this Act in such manner as shall be to the best interest and advantage of the people of the State.

Eminent Domain.

Section 15. Whenever the construction or location of any State Highway, or any part thereof, or the obtaining of right-ofway, or road building materials for the construction or maintenance of each road shall require that private property be taken or damaged; or where a change of gradient, a detour or an elimination of grade crossings is to be effected, or where the proper and economical location of a highway requires the changing of the channel of any stream, or the right-of-way to any deposit of road building material, or any water supply, or any water power sites and lands to be used in connection therewith, which may be necessary for the proper and economical construction and maintenance of said roads, then the Commissioner with the consent of a majority of the County Commissioners in the county involved, in the name of the State of Oklahoma, shall have the right to purchase or lease the necessary land, or the right-of-way to any deposit of road material, water supply, or any water power sites and lands to be used in connection therewith, or materials from the owner thereof, and if compensation therefor cannot be agreed upon, just compensation may be ascertained and the property acquired and paid for in the manner as provided by law for the exercise of the right of eminent domain by railroad corporations in this State, and in determining the damages or compensation to be paid the owner thereof, the court or jury shall take into consideration the benefits to be derived by the owner as well as the damages sustained thereby. Where it shall be necessary to acquire any land, right-of-way or road building material through a court proceeding, the County Attorney of the county where any such lands, right-of-way, or material is situated shall act for and in behalf of the State in such condemnation proceedings.

Public Utilities.

Section 16. The location and removal of all telephone, telegraph and electric light and power transmission lines, poles, wires and conduits and all pipe lines and tramways, erected or constructed, or hereafter to be erected or constructed upon or across any State Highway, insofar as the public travel and traffic is concerned, and insofar as the same may interfere with the construction or maintenance of any such highway, shall be under the control and supervision of the State Commissioner of Highways. The Commissioner, or some other officer selected by the Commissioner, shall serve a written notice upon the person or corporation owning or maintaining any such lines, poles, wires, conduits, pipe lines, or tramways, which notice shall contain a plan or chart indicating the places on the right-of-way at which such lines, poles, wires, conduits, pipe lines or tramways, may be maintained. The notice shall also state the time when the work of improving of said roads is proposed to commence, and shall further state that a hearing shall be had upon a proposed plan of location and matters incidental thereto, giving the place and date of such hearing. Immediately after such hearing the said owner shall be given a notice of the findings and orders of the Commissioner and shall be given a reasonable time thereafter to comply therewith; provided, however, that the effect of any change ordered by the Commissioner shal: not be to remove all or any part of such lines, poles, wires, conduits, pipe lines or tramways from the right-of-way of the highway. The removal of the same shall be made at the cost and expense of the owners thereof, unless otherwise provided by said Commissioner, and in event of the failure of such owners to remove the same at the time so determined, they may be removed by the State Commissioner of Highways, or under his direction, and the cost thereof collected from such owners and such shall not be liable in any way to any person for the placing and maintaining of such lines, poles, wires, conduits, pipe lines and tramways at the places prescribed by the Commissioner. The Commissioner of Highways is authorized in the name of the State of Oklahoma to institute and maintain through the Attorney General, such suits and actions as may be necessary to enforce the provisions of this Act. Any corporation, association, or the officers or agents of such corporations or associations, or any other person who shall erect or maintain any such lines, poles, wires, conduits, pipe lines or tramways within the right-of-way of such roads, which are hard-surfaced, which are not in accordance with such orders of the Commissioner, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor. This Section is not intended to and does not repeal Section 6326, Compiled Oklahoma Statutes, 1921, and the right and authority of County Commissioners to grant franchises as therein provided is not abridged. Provided, further, that the Commissioner of Highways shall promulgate such rules and regulations as he may deem necessary for the planting of trees, shrubbery and parking along such State Highways. State Commissioner of Highways-Duties.

Section 17. The State Commissioner of Highways is expressly charged with the duty of controlling the supervision, inspection

and direction of the work of construction on behalf of the State and its counties, and of supervising the expenditure of all funds. paid on account of such work by the counties of the State, and he shall do and perform all other matters and things necessary to the faithful completion of the improvements herein authorized, and to fully carry out the co-operation contemplated and provided by this Act and the Federal Aid Road Act. All engineers or inspectors having responsible charge of any improvements shall give bond for the faithful performance of their duties and for like accounting of all property intrusted to their custody. All bonds given by such engineers or inspectors in the employ of the State Commissioner of Highways shall be deemed to embrace any and all improvements of which they may be in charge.

State Highway Fund.

Section 18. No moneys shall be paid out of the State Highway Fund for grading, draining, hard surfacing or maintaining any street or alley within the limits of any city or town in this State, except as hereinafter provided; the County Commissioners of any county may under the direction of the State Commissioner of Highways contract for grading, draining or hard surfacing any street within any incorporated city or town where such street is a continuation of or a connecting link in the State Highway System, but that no hard surfacing upon any such street paid for out of the State Highway Fund as above provided shall exceed eighteen (18) feet in width.

Location of Improvements.

Section 19. Any such city or town through its duly constituted authorities, is hereby authorized to enter into any agreement with the Board of County Commissioners, subject to the approval of the State Commissioner of Highways, to determine the location of such improvement provided for in the above Section within such city or town and for its care and maintenance after construction, and in case of disagreement, the matter shall be referred to the State Commissioner of Highways whose decision thereon shall be final.

Agreements.

Section 20. The Board of County Commissioners of adjoining counties may agree upon the grading, drainage or hard surfacing on any county line road under such rules and regulations as may be prescribed by the State Commissioner of Highways, but all such agreements as to the County line improvements upon any division or section of the State Highway System, must be made subject to the approval of the State Commissioner of Highways.

Purpose of Act.

Section 20-A. It is understood that the purpose and intent of this Act is to establish a uniform system of State Highways by vesting in the State Highway Commissioner, authority to construct same with only the funds and moneys hereby designated as a State Highway Fund, referred to in Section 9, of this Act, and that it is not the intent nor purpose to divest or take away from the Board

of County Commissioners their duties to construct and maintain roads and bridges with the funds raised in any county.

Each County of the State shall continue to construct and maintain its roads and bridges as needed, by ad valorem taxation, through its county officials, and nothing in this Act shall be construed to abrogate or divest any county of its right to add to and construct and maintain roads and bridges, as needed, by ad valorem taxation;

Provided, that nothing in this Act, shall be construed to repeal Section 10,199, of the Compiled Oklahoma Statutes, 1921;

Provided, further, that nothing herein shall prevent the County Commissioners and the State Highway Commissioner from mutually agreeing to pool any funds, raised from any source, for the purpose of maintaining and constructing any State Highway, or the bridges and culverts thereon.

Roads-Patrol System.

Section 21. All roads, outside of cities, that are a part of the State Highway System, shall be maintained by the Board of County Commissioners, under a patrol system, to be provided for in the rules and regulations promulgated by the State Commissioner of Highways. Whenever the State Commissioner of Highways directs an inspection to be made of any State Road in any county and said inspector reports the condition of the said roads to the State Commissioner of Highways, the Commissioner of Highways shall make recommendation for the repair, rebuilding or maintenance of said road and shall request the County Commissioners to comply with said order. If, within sixty (60) days, after the request shall have been made by the State Commissioner of Highways, to the County Commissioners, said County Commissioners have failed, refused or neglected to comply with said order, then the State Commissioner of Highways is empowered and authorized to proceed with said improvement as specified in his order and shall pay for same out of money to be retained by him from the money apportioned to said county out of the State Highway fund.

Apportioning of State Funds.

Section 22. That in apportioning State funds to the respective counties of the State, under the terms of this Act, there shall be taken into consideration and due regard given those counties that have hard surface roads on designated State Highways by county funds, or by county funds with Federal aid, in that such counties shall have their fair share of the apportioning of State funds for the purposes of maintaining such hard surface roads and the building and maintaining of other and further roads, which are designated State Highways in such county to the extent that such county shall be given credit for such hard surface roads so built on State Highways in such county.

Unconstitutionality of Sections.

Section 23. That if any part of this Act shall be held to be unconstitutional, it shall not affect the other parts thereof.

Repealing Section.

Section 24. Sections 10110, 10111, 10112, 10113 and 10114, of the Compiled Oklahoma Statutes, 1921, are hereby repealed.

Approved April 9, 1923.

CHAPTER 113.

SENATE BILL NO. 341.

Transportation by Motor Vehicles.

AN ACT providing for the supervision, regulation and conduct of the transportation of persons, freight and property for compensation over the public highways of the state of Oklahoma by motor vehicles, conferring jurisdiction upon the corporation commission, providing for the enforcement of the provisions of this act and for the punishment for violations thereof, repealing all acts inconsistent with the provisions of this act, and declaring an emergency.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:

Motor Vehicle-Definitions.

Section 1. (a) The term "motor vehicle" when used in this act means any automobile, automobile truck, motor bus, or any other self propelled vehicle not operated or driven upon fixed rails or track.

(b) The term "motor Carrier" when used in this act means any person, firm, business, trust or corporation, lessee, trustee or receiver, operating any motor vehicle with or without trailer or trailers attached, upon any public highway for the transportation of passengers or property for compensation between fixed termini or over a regular route even though there may be periodic or irregular departures from said termini or route.

(c) The term "public highway" when used in this Act means every public street, road or highway, or thoroughfare of any kind in this State, used by the public, whether actually dedicated to the public and accepted by the proper authorities or otherwise.

Corporation Commission-Motor Carriers.

Section 2. The Corporation Commission of the State of Oklahoma is hereby vested with power and authority, and it shall be their duty to supervise and regulate every motor carrier doing an intercity business or operating between fixed termini or over a regular route and not operating exclusively within the limits of an incorporated city or town in this State; to fix or approve the maximum or minimum, or maximum and minimum rates, fares, charges, classifications and rules and regulations pertaining thereto of each motor carrier; to regulate and supervise the accounts, schedules, service and safety of operations of each such motor carrier; to prescribe a uniform system and classification of accounts to be used, which among other things shall set up adequate depreciation charges, and after such accounting system shall have been promulgated, motor carriers shall use no other; to require the filing of monthly, annual and other reports, and any other data; and to supervise and regulate motor carriers in all other matters affecting